Combination nail driver and set



March 23, 1954 COLTON 2,672,610

COMBINATION NAIL DRIVER AND SET Filed March 16 1951 WITNESS INVENTOR. 4. am, E 3% Patented Mar. 23, 1954 UNITED sures PATENT OFFICE 7 2,672,610 1 COMBINATION NAIL DRIVER AND SET.

' Roland J. comm, Port Washington, N. Y.

Application March 16, 1951, Serial No. 216,056

e 3 Claims. 1

This invention pertains tocarpentry, and is directed more particularly to a device which is particularly useful in driving nails of the general class called finishing nails and flooring nails.

It has been the practice heretofore to apply soap or grease to finishing nails when the hardness of the wood into which they are to be driven is such that wouldJcause' many unlubricated finishing nails to be bent before they are completely driven into the said wood. In addition to the above objectional feature, the lubricant remains on. the said finishing nails and reduces their holding capacity. Difficulty is also encountered when a lubricated finishingnail "is driven through one board and encounters alconcealed knot in the second boardwhich usually causes the said finishing nail to bend, in which case itmust be with.- drawn and discarded. I

The object of my inventionistofsurmount the aforesaid difficulties by providing'a' small and inexpensive device which will enable the user, with the aid of a hammer, to quickly drive andset unlubricated finishing nails 'of three consecutive sizes, including rusty finishing nails which might otherwise be useless, and'embodying a sensitive element which will indicate when the said finishing nails have been driven. tothe predetermined depth without the necessity of visual observation of the aforesaid finishing nails while being driven and set. Great skill in the use of a hammer is unnecessary.

Those versed in the art to which this invention pertains will be enabled to make and use this device after examinationofthis specification and the drawingsinwhich: ,I: g 1.

Fig. 1 showsthe device completely assembled with the various elementsgin the. position they would assume when -a,v finishing ,nail has been completely driven into wood and set below the surface of the said wood. A metal plunger is shown at I which extends through a metal guide tube 2 and terminates in a point shown at =3. The guide tube shown at 2 is slidable and rotatable on the said plunger I and may have part of its outer surface knurled to provide means for a firm handgrip of the user. An aperture is drilled through the side of the said guide tube which aperture is in communication with the interior of the said guide tube and is shown at 6. The element 3 is a resilient segment of a circle which partially embraces the said guide tube and which has one radial end terminating in a rounded tip 1 within said guide tube, and the rounded tip thereof contacts the plunger within the said guide tube via the aperture 6.

2 The aforesaid segment forms the resilient indicator element. The inside diameter. of the guide tube 2 is slightly larger than the head of the largest finishing nail to which this deviceis adapted.

Fig. 2 shows the plunger 9 drawn ona reduced scale and removed fromthe guide tube so that its form may be visualized. This plunger is a metal shaft having a circumferential groove 5 formed thereon, which will later be referred to herein as the indicator groove. The plunger is enlarged on one end in order that it may present a greater amount of surface where hammer blows are delivered at 8 during use.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the guide tube with the plunger removed and the resilient in.- dicator element embracing th tube and having one end thereof extending into the tube to cooperate with the plunger shown in Fig. 2.

The resilient indicator element may be formed of a spring wire having a body portion 3 which embraces the guide tube 2 and which has an inwardly extending portion 1, which extends into the tube 2 via a radial passage.

In operation, the plunger 9 is partially withdrawn from the guide tube 2, thus leaving an unoccupied cylindrical space within one end of the said guide tube into which a finishing nail is injected head first untilthe head'of the said finishing nail has passed the aperture 6 when it is subject to slight pressure exerted upon the said finishing nail head by the rounded indicator element 1, thus preventing the finishing nail from falling from the aforesaid guide tube which is held by the user at the knurled part while the forefinger contacts the resilient indicator element. The lower end of the guide tube is then placed against the Wood at the point. where it is desired to drive the said finishing nail, this action causing the said finishing nail to be retracted further into the said guide tube. Hammer blows are then applied to the driving head 8, Fig. 2, thereby causing the plunger to force the finishing nail out of the guide tube 2 axially and into the wood until the said plunger has arrived at a predetermined point where the indicator groove 5 coincides with the aperture '6 in the said guide tube when the rounded indicator element 1 is forced into the indicator groove 5 by spring action, causing perceptible movement of the resilient indicating element 3 which is readily detected by feel via the index finger of the user, indicating that the finishing nail has been driven to the predetermined depth. During this operation the finishing nail may be forced through a hard knot in the wood, and the finishing nail may be subject to slight bending which is limited by the inside wall of the said guide tube 2 and the firmness of the said wood surrounding the part of the said finishing nail which has entered said wood at this time.

During the driving and setting operation the finishing nail is concealed from the vision of the user by the guide tube, this being an advantage which allows the user, to concentrate vision on the liead which is more easily seen than the head or a finishing nail due to the greater size of the driving head 8. In the event, of the user delivering the last hammer blow with excessive energy which causes'l'overdriving. the indicating element would not function .as a positive plunger stop, but would sn'ap outof the indicator groove which is advantageou s. in,,ppe

venting the guide tube from being forced against the wood surface, thus defacing the said wood surface. There should preferably be at least one half inch of .eictra travelofithe plunger within the guide tube'before the driving .head would be stopped by the inevitablecohtact with the upper I end :of .the'said guide tube.

The resilient indicator element 3 functions in three useful capacities; (a) it indicates when'the unseen finishing nail has been driven to a predeterminedgdeptli, (b) it prevents .the finishing nail from falling from theiguide tube 2 before the pointlof the said finishing nail has come in contact fwith" the wood into which it is to be driven; and (c) it also acts as a means for holding the device in the position shown in Fig. 1, thus preventing the plunger from becoming accidentallyseparated "from the guide tube when not inuse;'while itiin'ay also have an extra loop bent to formaspring clipfor attachment of the device to the top of th'eworkmans pocket for convenience. "This-clip would be of the conventional typefas used onpencils and pens andmay be an integral partof. the one piece'indicator' element.

Without dpartiiig from' the essence of my inventionj'thei'e maybe a plurality of indicating elements embodied within this device such as ane'xtra indicatorgroove for signalling the approach-of the'nail' head to the woodsurface or foruse in specialworklsuch-as the manufacture of "'gaine's'vvliereiri'rouhd balls arerolled over a board"'-having numerouspinsj which pins are partially'driven finishing'nails' The materials 4; the guide tube instead of the symmetrical segment of a circle which is shown, thus employing a greater length of wire and providing more resilience.

Having described this device I claim as my invention:

1. In a nail driver and set, in combination, a guide tube element having a radial hole formed therein and communicating with the interior thereof, a plunger reciprocally, carried in said tube and having .an enlarged; oute r -end adapted to be hammered along the axis of said tube, an annular groove formed on said plunger, the position of the groove on the plunger and the positionofsaid radial hole being definitely related to thelength of, the nail used, so that said groove and said hole are substantially in alignment wheneanail insaid tube has been driven to a position, at least level with a surface into which said nail is being driven, and spring loaded means on the outside of said guide tube and having a portion extending via said hole into cooperative relation with said plunger said groove for contact by the users iingerfor indicating to the user that the penetration of the nail into said surface has progressed to the aforesaid degree.

2. A combination nail driver and set in accordance with claim 1 in which the end of said plunger adapted to engage the head of a nailin said tube is provided with a tip of, reduced diameter adapted to function as anail'set.

3. In a nail driver and set an elongated metal tube adapted to havea nailiinserted head. first into one end thereof withits point facingsaid end, ametal shaft having an enlarged head and a Shank port W ich forms a working fitpin said tube and having a nail head engaging end within the tube, an annular groove formedon said shank portion in spaceirelationwith respect tosaid engaging end, an apertureformed in, and having its. axis 9Q Wi thf respect to the axis of said tube and located. a predetermined distance from the first mentioned end of said tube, and a resilient spring element carried on the exterior of said tube and.having. a portion extending. via said aperture into. the interior of said tubeand in contact withsaid shaft.

ROLALID J. COLTON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED- STATES -PATENTS Number Name Date 394,604 Patten Dec. 18, 1888 1,014,639 Colwell Jan. 16,1912 1,127,838 Willers Feb. 9,. 1915 1,772,950 Joy Aug. 12, 1930 2,472,353 Van Sittert June '7, l949 

